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Me and Julio to build addition

The Me and Julio restaurant is beginning a new addition to its building. Following approval from the Hastings City Council Tuesday, the restaurant expects to start construction within the week.

Me and Julio's, located at 350 W. 33rd St., has been serving southwestern fare since opening here in August, 2011. Apparently, business has been good.

"It's doing better all the time," said Charles Young, a partner in Charlie Rae Inc., the company that owns the restaurant. The company was co-founded by Young's wife, Linda Young, and Charlie Burrows.

When it gets busy, the current dining room fills up and people end up waiting in line to get a seat, Young said. The restaurant has also had to turn down party reservations bigger than 10 people because there's just not enough room to fit them along with their regular customers.

"Now with this addition we're going to be able to pick that up," Young said.

The plans call for a roughly 1,300 square foot addition attached to the north side of the building, connected by a set of 12-foot-wide doors to the existing dining area. Instead of furnishing the addition with booth seating, it will all be tables and high-tops, so tables can be pushed together to accommodate larger parties if needed, Young said.

The site plan gained approval from the city council Tuesday evening. Young said that construction was expected to begin within the same week, and the project should be completed within the next two to three months.

"We have to have it done before the weather gets bad," he said.

Construction is being done entirely by local companies. The work won't affect any of the existing dining room space, as the addition will only be connected by a single door, that can be closed off.

"Most people, unless they come in (the construction area), won't even know that we're doing anything back there," Young said.